Oracle of Dandelions
by Caught.In.A.Trance
Summary: Dreams of a faceless girl haunt him since his childhood, only appearing when he needs her the most. But on the day of the 74th Hunger Games reaping, he did not expect the dreams to come back or the weird sensations between him and District 12's female tribute when they first meet.


**Title:** Oracle of Dandelions

**Summary:** Dreams of a faceless girl haunt him since his childhood, only appearing when he needs her the most. But on the day of the 74th Hunger Games reaping, he did not expect the dreams to come back or the weird sensations between him and District 12's female tribute when they first meet.

**Pairing:** Katniss/Cato

**Rating:** Rated M for violence, swearing, and POSSIBLE sexual scenes. AU.

**A/N:** So, this is the first time I'm writing a Hunger Games fic so I hope I can get as close to the characters' personalities and make them as believable as possible. Any advice, critiques, criticism, just about anything is appreciated, as long as you respond respectfully and well mannered then you shall receive the same treatment. Also the name of the story, it does have its meaning, you'll get it later on in the story, I promise :). And I have no Beta at this moment so if anyone is willing to be one for me, message or review for me to let me know, thank you.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or have any rights to The Hunger Games or its franchise. All belong to Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, Lions Gate Entertainment, and etc.

* * *

**Prologue**

_The sudden feel of wind blowing in his hair and the crisp smell of the Earth is what alerts him of his new destination. One moment he was dreaming of knives and swords, slicing through the air hitting their intended targets. But the next second, the whole scenery morphed into a familiar scene, one he hasn't seen for many years. _

_He gazes around the vast woods, the tall and thick trees and the fullness of the bushes still the same. The various types of flowers and plants surrounded them just as colorful and plentiful as before. He begins wondering around the woods, calmly taking in the smell and feel of peace he hasn't had in those many years. _

_Venturing off to a familiar undisturbed dirt path, he wonders if She is in their spot. He hears the mockingjays chirping an unfamiliar melody, but he finds that it's comforting while he's walking on the path, heading towards his destination. A few moments later, he comes upon the same circle of trees, the same patch of grass with fallen leaves and twigs lying upon it, yellow flowers in bunches buried deep in the Earth. _

_He recalls the first time he came here, a young boy, so naïve and misguided and thankfully many years later he learned the real way to be a boy… a real man. He learned the ways that all District 2 boys were trained to know; to be ruthless and cold hearted killers. To kill first, ask questions never. The snap of a twig alerted him someone was here and he sharply turned his head to where he heard it, already on the defensive. _

_Sharp blue eyes glared at the approaching figure, an all too familiar figure that he expected would show up sooner or later, She __always did. He noticed she never changed in appearance, still as short and petite as ever. _

"_What am I doing back here?" He called out to Her, noticing she was still walking towards him, but he noticed how she was hesitant in her approach. Good, he thought smugly, after all She was the one who left him all those years ago when he needed someone, just like everyone else in his life._

_She finally came to stand in front of him, her scent of pine and strangely enough lavender hitting his nose strongly yet comforting. Cato noticed how he never really noticed how petite She was, but then again, he hadn't seen Her for many years. He noticed how She still looked the same with her long brown hair in one braid over one of her shoulders, her outfit the same black pants and shirt, her worn out black boots. _

"_I don't know, you tell me," She answered back calmly, but Cato could tell she was amused even if she didn't show it or her tone didn't reveal it, and he still wished he could see her face but he never did or could. Her face was forever blurred to him, as if a dense fog settled in front of his eyes should he even glance at her face. He could never figure out if how she was feeling through her facial features. Hell, he didn't even know what color were her eyes, if she smiled at all… anything. But throughout their time together, he learned how to read his old friend, if he can even still call her such. _

_One thing Cato was not in the mood for was her amusement or her acting all calm. He was feeling his temper beginning to rise, and he wasn't even near her for a full five minutes. "Quit the crap and tell me why I am here and even better, why are YOU here?" He growled at her, just wanting answers. Cato was never one for small talk, especially with the likes of Her. _

"_Must you be so hostile my Little Warrior?" She took a step back when he took a step towards her, his face and overall demeanor becoming menacing. _

"_I am not LITTLE anymore!" Cato was far from little, he was a staggering six foot four inches and three times her size with all those muscles he gained from his training. "And I am not yours!" He hated her and the way she was trying to act like all those years that passed between them never happened… the abandonment and sense of loss, the bitterness and loathing he felt towards her over time. He couldn't afford to remember those feelings; he locked them up deep inside himself and for good reason. It made him want to kill something... or someone the more he reflected on the past._

_She held her hands up in surrender; her intention was to never rile him up. "I'm sorry Cato, I didn't mean to upset you," he snorted at her usage of the word 'upset' but she continued on, "and I know any apologies I say now will never be enough for the way I suddenly left you but I had no choice. But trust me, even I can see how you aren't little anymore, you've... grown up." She sounded sad but Cato held no sympathy for her at this point, all because he did grow up from the child she once knew to the man she did not know. He was glad she could acknowledge he wasn't the same like all those years ago. _

_He changed, whether for the good or the bad but all he knew was She in a few ways helped in molding him to the person he was today._

_But just because he was no longer the child did not mean the child left him and that burning curiosity of WHY she left him haunted him, more than her faceless appearance. _

"_Oh really?" He mocked her, a smirk on his face," then please explain to me why you left me alone when I needed you the most, when I felt lost in this world back then," Cato just wanted and needed answers even if he told himself long ago he never wanted them. He cursed himself for still being the curious boy he once was, especially when around her. _

_And he still felt the loathing for her churning his stomach, how it was making him feel so sick just being around her. _

_She sighed, and Cato knew it was a sigh of defeat, for what, he did not know, "I can't Cato and I'm sorry," She shook her faceless head, never understanding why she was taken away from her boy as well, "but you must remember that I only came to you in a time of need and I guess someone with a lot of power over us decided you didn't need me anymore." _

"_Yeah right, I needed you then, especially when I was turning twelve that year, eligible for the reaping. You remember how vulnerable and scared I was back then," Cato hated how weak and pathetic he must sound but no one was with him right now, just him and Her. He remembered how needy and sad he was as a young boy when he relied on Her in his dreams to escape reality. But she did indeed come to him at a time of need and her presence in his dreams did wonders with him till She left. He stopped his memories from surfacing even more to his mind, pushing them back into the back of his mind and forcing them to stay back._

_She bent her head down, her sorrow and guilt easily felt spreading throughout the tense atmosphere. He kept staring at her, waiting for her to respond. Cato at this point was about ready to leave, well… if he could._

_Abruptly she sank down on the patch of grass, sitting next to a few bunches of yellow flowers, or what he recalled were weeds. She plucked one off the ground, twirling it in between a few fingers, not quite sure what to say. _

_Cato wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel, what to say… anything. He just decided to stand there, watching how her tan delicate fingers continued twirling the small flower. After what seemed like hours but was really minutes, she spoke. He could barely hear her for how soft and low her voice was, but he heard her as if she spoke loud and clear. _

"_I was once told by a loved once what dandelions," she looked up at Cato with her blurred features and brought the flower up in her hand towards him, indicating said flower, "Were used for. It was a silly story, but the girl who told me about the story believed in it. I used to get irritated with her about how she believes in such foolishness but how could I when I never even tried out what the story mentioned?" _

_Cato wondered where did that come from and voiced this to her. "What the hell are you talking about?" He could admit that he was intrigued a little by what she was talking about; she always did manage to gain his attention, no matter how big or small the meaning of what she spoke of. But this time, he was lost with what she was speaking of. _

"_No idea, but being here again after all these years, makes me remember how things were back then, and everything has changed," she could see his icy blue eyes glaring at her and his face flushing in anger the more she kept talking, "but I know it is partly my fault why everything has changed. It is my fault why you changed." She wasn't stupid, she knew the abrupt departure left him feeling hatred and bitterness, she could see it deep in his once warm eyes, but the moment she looked into those familiar eyes, all warmth was long gone and it was Her fault. _

"_You're fucking right it was your fault!" Cato yelled at her, he didn't know why he did but it just felt good to finally yell at the one person who once mattered to him the most. Even though she was from a dream, She was HIS and was the only good thing in his life until she left him. _

_She didn't know the cruel and difficult training he had to go through, the years of being trained to be a killing machine, and he voiced this to her. _

"_You have no fucking clue what I had to do these past few years! I had to train for hours upon hours how to kill. I had to practice every day how to swing my swords at the intended targets, how to throw knives at an opponent and where the deadliest places on the body were so I can aim for them! I had to learn how to kill with my bare hands from twisting and breaking the neck of one person to bashing another's head on the ground!" He was breathing harshly, his chest rapidly falling up and down but he needed her to hear this last part, "I had to kill did you know that? I bet you didn't but it doesn't matter. And you know what, it feels GOOD to kill. It's a fucking thrill to know you can kill someone, that you hold their life in your hands and you can either let them live or let them die." _

_She hated the way his eyes gleamed in pleasure and it made her feel sick to know her little boy was no longer so innocent in mind, and he followed along the path of all those heartless monsters the children from District 2 became. _

"_Oh Cato…" He cut her off before she can even express anything towards him. _

"_Oh no… you're not going to sprout some shit about how sweet and innocent I was because guess what? I'm not so sweet and I am definitely not innocent any longer. YOU made me this way, the moment I knew you were never coming back, I fucking hated you then and I still hate you now. I would concentrate all my hate towards you on my trainers or dummies or the other kids when I would attack them with my swords or even my hands. I was going to be the best when it came to training for the Hunger Games. I was preparing myself in becoming a tribute for our district and I was going to bring honor to it. You gave me that edge to go and stop being weak and small minded and just do as I was born to do: kill."  
_

_She could not understand how he could enjoy killing, like it was a hobby or daily activity. But she understood why he became this way and he was right; She made him become this way. Logically she knew she did nothing to make him become this killer, it wasn't as if she pulled a gun to his head and told him to kill. But her disappearance must have made him feel empty and what better way to fill in a emptiness inside you then with hate? She couldn't blame him but she did wonder...  
_

_"So why haven't you attacked me yet if you hate me so much?" Cato tensed up, shock running through his body at her question.  
_

_WHY hadn't he attacked her yet if he really did hate her so much? He looked down at her, tornado of emotions running through his body and mind. He hates, fuck does he hate her but why can't he hurt her like he's always wanted to? Like he's dreamed of for so long?  
_

_"It's because you can't Cato, you're not the killer you claim you are," she stood up from the ground, dandelion still clutched between her fingers and her defiant stance strong as ever.  
_

_But her statement did nothing but provoke him, hating how she thought she knew him but in reality, she had no idea who he really was.  
_

_"You're not worth touching and not worth my time so when I go into the Hunger Games, just know when I look at someone, all I'll see is you and it will be my pleasure killing off 23 of you." He smiled cruelly at her, his bright white teeth shining in the sunlight.  
_

_She paid no mind about how twisted his mind was and how he'll want to kill off 23 different versions of herself, she just focused on one thing: "So you're going to volunteer as tribute for The Hunger Games?"  
_

_Now she knew why she was sent back to him in his dreams again. He had no clue what the bigger players upstairs had in store for him... or her for that matter.  
_

_"No shit. It's my turn for the honor and glory, I just turned 17 and if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the best District 2 has. That and the need for blood to shed is quite strong." Cato was never quite right, he loved the coppery smell of blood, the warm red thick liquid coming from his opponents dripping from his fingers... it was beyond thrilling.  
_

_She ignored the shiver that ran down her back, terrified of how her Little Warrior was turned into a monster. She felt the beginnings of his sleep cycle ending soon, she never understood how or why she knew these things, but she was grateful for it; gave her more time to give him a last message or something.  
_

_"You know the only reason why I show up to you in dreams yes? Only when you need me or when someone feels you need me." She looked up sharply at his icy blue eyes, not knowing how eerie it was for Cato to look into blurs that were known as eyes. "I think I know why I was sent back here and that was to tell you something big is going to happen to you..."  
_

_"Again, it's probably because I'm going to be in the Hunger Games..." He cut her off but she cut him off as well.  
_

_"Not that you idiot," She hated going into name calling but she did it only when she needed to, "something bigger and it must be because of the Hunger Games. I can feel it, and just do me something, I don't care if you hate me but please, heed what I have to say." She would beg if she had to just for him to listen to her. But thankfully, he was listening to her, and she thanked whoever was upstairs right now for having Cato have the patience to hear her.  
_

_"I'm listening, even though you called me an idiot." He didn't have to but something nudged him that what She has to say was important. She nodded her head and continued forth.  
_

_"You're going to have to for once in your life trust somebody, and this person, they'll return that trust to you just as strong. Please don't close yourself off to the other tributes when you meet, because one of them will be that person to trust, they'll be that person to give you that lifetime of trust."  
_

_"Like who? You do realize the tributes will have to die, so why build... trust with someone if they are just going to be killed. There can only be..."  
_

_"One victor I know. But things... happen for a reason and just find that person. You won't like them at first, but give them a chance." Suddenly she burst into flame, hot and consuming fire that its heat hit him from the distance.  
_

Cato awoke with a start on his large bed, sitting up sharply, choking and coughing while he felt hot and sweaty all over his body. His chest fell up and down rapidly, his heart beating much too fast and he tried calming himself.

He hadn't had visions of her for over 5 years, and he knew the reason why She returned.

Today was the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games.

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**A/N:** Sorry for any confusion or mistakes. There is a reason why She has no name, but it will be better explained in the story lol. I'm still rusty with my writing so I'll get better as time goes, I hope. I'm already working on Chapter 1 so we'll see when the next update is. Thank you.


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